September 1, 2004 (almost, just a little late!)
Shadows
Two weeks ago Den was preaching from the 23rd Psalm and especially the
verse that says,”Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of
death, I will fear no evil for thou are with me and thy rod and thy
staff, they comfort me.” You can tell I memorized that from King James,
because that is not the way he read the verse from the pulpit. But the
thee's and thou's aside, the phrase “the shadow of death” has really
been stuck in my mind and heart ever since.
We are currently praying with someone, who from their perspective seems
to be stuck in the valley of the shadow of death. Death seems to be
looming from every side and apart from a miracle, disaster may well
result and certainly fearing evil is a daily opportunity! I’ve been walking
on my knees in prayer for this person for some time now; believing God
for the miracle that is so desperately needed.
And then yesterday morning, after I had been praying and reflecting
again about the phrase from the Psalm, I was standing in front of the
bathroom sink brushing my hair when I noticed a very clear shadow of my arm
on the shower curtain beside me. Suddenly, one of those spiritual WOW
moments came! As I looked at that shadow I realized that though the
image was certainly recognizable as my arm, it wasn’t my arm. It was
only a shadow! And God seemed to whisper in my heart in that instant,
“and when the light changes, the shadow will disappear!”
Isn’t that always the way it is? When we allow the Light of the World,
our Savior Jesus Christ to fully illuminate a situation in our lives,
the shadows and unknowns are replaced with Life and the fulfillment of
his plan for us. The “shadow of death”, in any situation, is merely
that … a shadow. But how many times have you caught something out of the
corner of your eye and been truly frightened or at least startled until
you realized it was just a shadow?
Satan would have us live in that same state of fear or unrest as we
walk through the valley on our way to the next mountain top. We catch
something out of the corner of our spirit’s eye that we think is surely
death and become afraid, depressed or despair in our circumstances. Satan
chuckles and says, “Yeah, gotcha!”
Now comes the time for the rest of the verse. Believe that the Father
is with us and will provide all that we need to be comforted in this
time. Not merely provided for, but comforted! Who are we going to
believe and let determine our behavior as we complete our travel through the
valley? The Enemy who is casting shadows of death before us, or the
Light of the World who promises life and victory to the overcoming Saint?
The choice is always ours. Which will you choose?
Until next time … love and prayers,
RuthAnn Gleason, the Parson's Wife
ragleason@sbcglobal.net
